505.071 CRUELTY TO COMPANION ANIMALS.

   (a)   As used in this section:

      (1)   “Companion animal” means any animal that is kept inside a residential dwelling and any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept. “Companion animal” does not include livestock or any wild animal.

      (2)   “Cruelty”, “torment” and “torture” have the same meanings as in Ohio R.C. 1717.01.

      (3)   “Residential dwelling” means a structure or shelter or the portion of a structure or shelter that is used by one or more humans for the purpose of a habitation.

      (4)   “Practice of veterinary medicine” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 4741.01.

      (5)   “Wild animal” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 1531.01.

      (6)   “Federal animal welfare act” means the “Laboratory Animal Act of 1966", Pub. L. No. 89-544, 80 Stat. 350 (1966), 7 U.S.C.A. 2131 et seq., as amended by the “Animal Welfare Act of 1970", Pub. L. No. 91-579, 84 Stat. 1560 (1970), the “Animal Welfare Act Amendments of 1976", Pub. L. No. 94-279, 90 Stat. 417 (1976), and the “Food Security Act of 1985", Pub. L. No. 99-198, 99 Stat. 1354 (1985), and as it may be subsequently amended.

   (b)   No person shall knowingly torture, torment, needlessly mutilate or maim, cruelly beat, poison, needlessly kill, or commit an act of cruelty against a companion animal.

   (c)   No person who confines or who is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall negligently do any of the following:

      (1)   Torture, torment, needlessly mutilate or maim, cruelly beat, poison, needlessly kill, or commit an act of cruelty against the companion animal;

      (2)   Deprive the companion animal of necessary sustenance, confine the companion animal without supplying it during the confinement with sufficient quantities of good, wholesome food and water, or impound or confine the companion animal without affording it, during the impoundment or confinement, with access to shelter from heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, or excessive direct sunlight, if it can reasonably be expected that the companion animal would become sick or suffer in any other way as a result of or due to the deprivation, confinement, or impoundment in any of those specified manners.

   (d)   Subsections (b) and (c) of this section do not apply to any of the following:

      (1)   A companion animal used in scientific research conducted by an institution in accordance with the federal animal welfare act and related regulations;

      (2)   The lawful practice of veterinary medicine by a person who has been issued a license, temporary permit, or registration certificate to do so under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4741;

      (3)   Dogs being used or intended for use for hunting or field trial purposes, provided that the dogs are being treated in accordance with usual and commonly accepted practices for the care of hunting dogs;

      (4)   The use of common training devices, if the companion animal is being treated in accordance with usual and commonly accepted practices for the training of animals;

      (5)   The administering of medicine to a companion animal that was properly prescribed by a person who has been issued a license, temporary permit, or registration certificate under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4741.

         (ORC 959.131)

   (e)   (1)   Whoever violates subsection (b) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree on a first offense. On each subsequent offense such person is guilty of a felony and shall be prosecuted under appropriate State law.

      (2)   Whoever violates subsection (c) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree on a first offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree on each subsequent offense.

      (3)   A.   A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section to forfeit to an impounding agency, as defined in Ohio R.C. 959.132, any or all of the companion animals in that person’s ownership or care. The court also may prohibit or place limitations on the person’s ability to own or care for any companion animals for a specified or indefinite period of time.

         B.   A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section to reimburse an impounding agency for the reasonably necessary costs incurred by the agency for the care of a companion animal that the agency impounded as a result of the investigation or prosecution of the violation, provided that the costs were not otherwise paid under Ohio R.C. 959.132.

      (4)   If a court has reason to believe that a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section suffers from a mental or emotional disorder that contributed to the violation, the court may impose as a community control sanction or as a condition of probation a requirement that the offender undergo psychological evaluation or counseling. The court shall order the offender to pay the costs of the evaluation or counseling. (ORC 959.99)